I've been thinking since I got Ally about talking to the dog catcher and seeing if he would bring kittens he finds straight to me to take care of and adopt out. He told me when they are that young they usually end up euthanizing them because they don't have the man power to care for the kittens. Has anyone done this? If so please share stories/advice because I think this is something I'd really like to put my time and effort into.
Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens
fostering kittens?
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Posted 2 years ago by linksboomerang #
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Fostering is a very rewarding and very time-consuming activity. Other than marriage, it's the most rewarding and the most difficult thing I've ever done!
A few of the things you need:
Patience
Lots of time - feedings every four hours, in the middle of the night, daily baths, helping them use the litterbox...
A place to keep them quarantined from your other animals
A veterinary knowledge, or a vet you can contact at any time 24/7
Money to pay for food, litter, medicine, vet bills
Basic knowledge of cat anatomy
Cooperative housemates
A predictable work schedule (you can't go on vacation unexpectedly)
An open heart
An understanding of the brevity of life - sadly, we all lose animals we love, and kittens are even more fragile than adultsAnother thing to consider is that you will be responsible for inoculations for these little ones. This can get expensive. I don't know what you're thinking of doing with them, but it will be difficult to find adopters for so many little ones. During peak season, you may have many litters of kittens in your house, and this will become almost a full-time job!
All that said, if you have the resources, this can be a great contribution to the community. You may want to foster in conjunction with your local animal control, since they will then provide the vet care and adoption services. That's what I do. I love it! It's very hard to see them go at the end of their time with me, or if they don't make it. I always cry when a litter goes to be adopted. But if you can, then go for it! It's a service that is much needed.
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Fostermom has pretty much covered it all. You need the money,time,space patience of a saint...& you need to be able to let go when it's their time for adoption or God forbid,time for them to go to the bridge. I suggest you find some who does this already in your area & work with them for awhile first.
Good Luck -
Thanks for all the advice! How easy do you find it to adopt the kittens out?
Posted 2 years ago by linksboomerang #
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It is very easy to find good homes for them from a central location, like the animal control. They spend very little time at the shelter if it is in a populated area, because kittens are so cute. It's the adults that are hard to place. Also, be aware that it's harder to find homes for them if no one knows you have them, i.e., if you work with a shelter that is known and advertised, or a part of the gov't., then it's easier to adopt them out.
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When someone is privately raising the kittens to adopt, should they have like an adoption application/process? Fee?
Posted 2 years ago by linksboomerang #
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LB, I'd really recommend doing it through Animal Control or a shelter, as Fostermom says, especially if you're getting the kittens from Animal Control in the first place. Otherwise the costs of KMR/food, vet attention and inoculations really could become prohibitive and it's also a big time commitment being home for visiting prospective new kitty owners -- and, as FosterMom says, how are you going to advertise or vet the new owners? Not so hard for one or two kittens but much harder as an ongoing thing.
But if you do decide to go it alone, yes, I would say always charge a fee for your babies. Partly because you're going to need a bit to help cover expenses but mostly because some horrible people go round looking for free kittens for reasons you don't want to know about. Also, a charge means there's some up-front commitment from their new owners to the responsibility (and cost) they're taking on when adopting a baby. (It doesn't have to be a lot, just enough to cut out the idiots and predators.)
Have you seen that beautiful blog, IttyBittyKittyCommittee? Beautiful pix and blog from a wonderful person who fosters kittens almost continually: http://www.theittybittykittycommittee.com/.
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O!M!G! Those orange and white tabbies are soooo cute! They look like Sneakers did when he was a baby. Hard to believe that in one short year he went from being a tiny handful of fuzz to being a 14 pound boy with an attitude.
Posted 2 years ago by CheetahBoysmommy #
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I have 4 babies that I am currently fostering and absolutely love it! I have to say... make sure you have the time! I am sleep deprived lol... but finally catching up! I have had the current litter that I am fostering since day one and they have all ended up doing really well! I didn't expect any of them to make it! Now we are moving on the the litter box and as of tonight trying their first few bites of wet food! It has been very rewarding but expensive at the same time! 2 of them had to have their eyes surgically opened due to an infection and they underwent a round of 2 different antibiotics. Now I have 2 more that are on another set of antibiotics! I think this is due to them not being with mom at all! But, I love them! Just make sure that if you are married or dating someone that they are very understanding or even willing to lend a hand every so often! It gets very over-whelming at times! My husband was so great! We did a little assembly line of kittens! I would feed them, he would burp them and I would head to the sink to stimulate them to go potty, then we would try to feed a little more if they wanted! Good luck and it is so much fun when they get past the critical stage! We sit and watch them play for hours! I am still looking for homes for 2 of my babies but I am very picky because they have been expensive and time consuming! If you do take this on... thank you!!! You are doing a wonderful thing!
Posted 2 years ago by Tinkerbell #
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I'm still considering it. I've not seen the dog catcher here in a while. Most shelters accepting volunteers are too far away since we are a 1 car family. Thanks for all of your advice! I hope he comes by soon so we can talk, and I can know more for sure.
Posted 2 years ago by linksboomerang #
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We, too, are a one-car family, and it can be difficult. If you want to go in with the shelter, you may not have to be there as much as you think. I average a visit or two per month - one to pick up the kittens, one for booster inoculations, and one to take them back. I also sometimes have to take them in for vet questions, but I have a vet within walking distance.
You should always charge a fee for your kittens. Some unscrupulous researchers go around looking for free animals to do animal testing of products/medicines, and you don't want this to be the fate of your babies! You don't have to charge a lot, just enough to prohibit people like that from wanting your animals. The shelter here charges $125, but that is to cover the cost of the spay/neuter surgery and inoculations as well.
As to an application process, you should ask how many animals are in the house now, if the landlord allows animals, have they ever had pets before, why they want a kitten, how long they expect the animal to live (some people think that cats are like big dogs, a 7-yr commitment), what they are expecting the "maintenance" and costs to be like, etc. This can help people who don't know what to expect. Also, make sure that your adoptees know that they can bring the kittens back if it doesn't work out. You don't want them to just put the kitten outside and tell it to fend for itself if they can't keep it. Some people think that this is okay, because they hear that cats can hunt for themselves. They don't realize that this hunting is a skill taught by mom and not always available to domesticated cats.
Also, prepare a fact sheet about cats with litterbox info, grooming, food, water, vet visit info, and numbers of local vets. The ASPCA animal poison control center number can be helpful, too: 888-426-4435. Check the rabies vaccination laws in your area. In my area, all animals must be vaccinated and must have a license tag to that effect. You may want to include a discussion of whether to let your cat out or not.
Good luck!
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